Review Author: Normunds S

Review Date: 08 Jan 2019

Review Body: I made 14 dives and my 11 years old son completed junior OW. WISHNI was his instructor. everything was well organised. my son liked the course a lot. later he made 4 dives as a qualified diver and there was a dive guide with him all the times. IT was safe althougj the ocean was rough and visibility very low. strong currents for the last two days. we where always one of the last boats on dive sites- if you look for an early dive check some other dive centres on other side of the beach - I saw some boats leaving around 7.30. submarine normally leaves around 9.30. the dive sites are ok. especially Galle wrecks and site no. 12. dives normally last 40-45 min. I was diving with my own gear and everything was well arranged for my son. otherwise I would just comment that divemasters would also need some wetsuit renewal - they look very low in torn wetsuits and do not give good impression. most of the times they dive only in teeshirt and bermudas and get cold soon. divemasters are qualified, know the locations and underwater grounds well. there is always a hand that brings gear from and to the boat. generally I give 9* from 10 to this place to leave some space for improvement!! thank you, Submarine!

Review rating: 5

Review Author: Johan D, Belgium

Review Date: 10 Oct 2018

Review Body: My girlfriend and I just completed the PADI Open Water Diver Course at the Submarine Diving School. It was our very first diving experience and we are thrilled we have done it there. Very clear and honest communication before the start of our course about the terms of the course and the conditions of the sea. Once arrived, they were very helpful and flexible in the planning of the course. We did it in 4 days. Although conditions were rough (bad weather, poor visibility at times), the course was thaught very professionally and we never ever felt unsafe. Our instructor, Wisni, was considerate and always put us at ease. We definitely recommend him! We finished the course as planned and during our final open water dive we saw hundreds of beautiful fishes and some colorful corals. Since we can't compare to any other dive sites, I can't provide any feedback for the more experienced diver... Overall, professional, helpful instructors, good equipment & multiple dive sites to choose from. Recommend!

Review rating: 5

Review Author: _U4717PX

Review Date: 16 Jul 2019

Review Body: I was diving with guys in December 2018 and first of all I want to apologize it took me so long to write this review. This is only because I wanted this review to be really good =) First of all, extremely helpful, extremely friendly staff. It was so friendly, that my usual nervousness has faded away and all I did was enjoy the dives and absorb new information. Cause I decide to take AOWD during my stay and I’m 100% positive it was right decision. The surrounding areas have everything you might need: wrecks for deep diving and wreck diving, good spots for underwater navigation training, safe night dive spots and once again - super helpful staff and instructors. I also appreciate SUBMARINE’s fair and reasonable price. Special thanks to Wisni for his support, patience, careful explanations and always friendly smile =) Also my biggest thanks to Shirley and whole team!!

Review rating: 5

Review Author: Tomislav N

Review Date: 11 Aug 2016

Review Body: hello everyone.Submarine Diving School is the bast school in the world,I traveled a lot around the world and I have always loved to dive,but the amazing experience I got in Sri Lanka at Submarine Diving School.This is the most professional schools in the world,The owner of the school is a lovely gentleman Wisni Niranjana,no matter how scared you know his experience will make your equipment safe.His workers were trained at the highest level.My experience from these schools can not be described,in the school will receive the latest equipment and the most modern coaches.I would like this opportunity to welcome my very dear coach who has trained me everything before diving mister Mahesh.for all who want to dive or try for the first time this is the best school for you.thank you so much for my most beautiful experience,thank you very much mister Wisni Niranjana

Review rating: 5

Review Author: Jentravellingenco

Review Date: 04 Jan 2019

Review Body: My boyfriend got passioned for diving and I wanted to share his passion, I started my open water but could not finished it because of an ear infection so I did it again at submarine diving in Unawatuna: the kindness, the passion for teaching and for safety, the seriousness of the Shirley is admirable. There was no comparison with any of my boyfriends previous experiences nor mine, Shirley and his team are the best you can hope for! Shirley and his brother are an example to all future divers. Shirley's experience is deserving and he communicates it in a an amazing way! I cannot say it enough: PLEASE GO HERE whatever you feel like trying out: introduction dive, open water or experienced dives, you will have a great experience!!!!!!!!! They were there before anyone else, so TRUST THEM WITH YOUR DIVES!

Review rating: 5

Review Author: wreckeddiverkat, Austria

Review Date: 09 Apr 2018

Review Body: If you really end up in Unawatuna you have many diving centers to choose from. I asked around a bit, and finally ended with the Submarine (although it was located at the very end of the beach near the temple) - and didn't regret it at all: they gave me a fair price (without much haggling), the equipment was good, the party small enough (4 customers and 2 guides). The guides were nice and professional, and the other guests had some experience, so we had two very smooth and interesting dives. I did one wreck dive, and one at a big block of corals, both just a few minutes from the beach on the boat. Some bigger fish at the wreck, nudibranchs on the second dive. Since Unawatuna was too busy with tourists for me, this was a fun day to spend before moving on.

Review rating: 5

Review Author: MdR102

Review Date: 07 Aug 2016

Review Body: I have always wanted to scuba dive but was scared since i didnt know swimming. during my stroll on the beach i discovered this diving centre at the end of the unawatuna beach. My diving instructor Sherly was extremely helpful and encouraging. he was very patient in training me on hoe to breathe under water and how to handle various situations. after about an hour of training we were ready to go to the deep waters. The experience was absolutely beautiful thanks to my diving instructor. he made sure i was ok and we went about 10 mtrs deep into the sea with a dive lasting for more than an hour. Would definitely recommend this place to all the scuba diving enthusiasts. Thanks for the lovely experience.

Review rating: 5

Review Author: caminodelacueva, Germany

Review Date: 11 Nov 2019

Review Body: I went diving one day with the Submarine team, and i didn´t expect to get such a good support ! Thanks for all that smiles. it was my first time diving, and every step to get in the water felt sooo natural with the smile of the team. The instructors are very well prepared, professional and they love what they do. Going under water may be frightening for some, or just exciting, and submarine team makes the best for every body, respecting timing and just letting you get into the amazing world underwater. I cann´t feel more safe that holding their hands there. This experience make me seriously think about doing the basis courses for diving. GREAT EXPERIENCE

Review rating: 5

Review Author: Ashwin K

Review Date: 01 Dec 2016

Review Body: Had the pleasure of doing our PADI Advanced Open Water course with our very lovely instructor Wisni here. Was very easy to arrange in advance as they promptly responded to our emails. The diving itself was great! As it was so early in the season, visibility wasn't endless but good enough to see plenty of fish and coral. Worked alongside Wisni to pick which adventure dives we should do, but all five were great. Highlight was seeing two huge turtles in our night dive - jaw dropping and eerie. Only tricky bit was managing to pay the lot in cash which took a fair amount of planning to withdraw the cash over multiple days from the ATM.

Review rating: 5

Review Author: AqilM47

Review Date: 19 Jan 2018

Review Body: We heard about Submarine from the rave reviews here and decided to try diving here. Talked to Wishni (I hope that's correct) and we signed up for 3 dives. I passed my open water just the weekend before, so I was more than stoked for these dives. True enough, Submarine didn't disappoint. The dive sites were amazing to me. There were alot of macro life on the reefs and the wrecks. The crew was really nice and funny. It was quite funny to see them shivering from the cold wind after the dives. We had an enjoyable time. Will definitely visit them if I am ever in Unawatuna again.

Review rating: 5

Review Author: Karolina P, UK

Review Date: 31 Dec 2015

Review Body: Had a really good time diving with this school I'm AOW and they made sure that I was always going with people with similar qualification and diving skills as mine so I could enjoy the dives fully only once I was sent with someone who was still relatively new to diving but following day I had one dive with only a dive master which was pretty amazing as we done exactly an hour and that was absolutely stress free fun dive. Oh on on my first day (second dive) one of dive masters broke few oysters so we were feeding fishes while waiting at the 5m safety stop, what an experience.

Review rating: 5

Review Author: BEN B, Germany

Review Date: 08 Feb 2016

Review Body: Submarine Diving Center has definitely the best prices and a really good service. The staff if you like prepares your gear for every dive and takes care of you and your friends. I had about 10 dives there. We went to different wrecks and reefs. Sometimes the visibility was under 10 meters but for the Indian Ocean it`s quite normal. I invite also some friends to dive with Shirly and his crew - all were satisfied. I can recommend this Diving Center for beginners and for advanced divers as well (I have about 150). Thanks to the Submarine Diving Crew!

Review rating: 5

Review Author: moniquelmm, New York

Review Date: 02 Oct 2016

Review Body: My friends and I decided to go on a dive at spur of the moment because they offered us an affordable deal and it was a nice day. It was my first dive and I was mildly terrified. My instructor held my hand the whole time and would make sure I was okay. They also make sure to practice all the precautions and breathing in shallow water before taking you out on the boat. I would definitely recommend visiting these guys even if it is or isn't your first time diving! The coral reef and shipwreck were great to see!

Review rating: 5

Review Author: Yonathana2019, UK

Review Date: 08 Jan 2016

Review Body: My wife and I were on honeymoon in Sri Lanka and wanted to get back into the water, at the last minute I decided to obtain AOW and my wife (rescue diver) accompanied me during the dives. The staff were friendly, easy to deal with, safe and definitely knew what they were doing. The equipment was to standard although some of the rental suits were a bit old. It was 28-29 degrees in the water so the suits were almost not necessary. Overall dive sites were okay and there were signs of coral regeneration and life.

Review rating: 5

Review Author: inmybackpack

Review Date: 18 Feb 2019

Review Body: I got my Open Water Diver Certification here a few days ago. Everything was perfect. Wisni is a great, skilled and professional Instructor, he made me feel safe and at ease all over the course. I learned step by step in the nice environment of this diving center, in the warm waters of the ocean, surrounded by amazing and colorful fishes, with Wisni beside me. I discovered a new world and it is because of him. I absolutely recommend!

Review rating: 5

Review Author: BobChris_12, UK

Review Date: 14 Jan 2016

Review Body: Had me kitted up fairly quickly. All equipment transferred onto boat. Did quick briefing on where we would do first dive just before leaving. Had a problem starting boat up but after a few tweaks on engine we left. Only took about 10 minutes to the Aloh Gala dive site. Followed line down but I had problem with mask so Chalith took me back to boat and got a new one - all good no problems after that. Visibility good. Did nice swim around site and through small cave. Not very colourful and didn't see that much.. Came back to land and rested for about an hour till second dive. Set off for Napolian Reef. Swam down rope, visibility poor with quite a few surges. Did see moray eel swimming and lobster tucked into the rocks not much else. Disappointed as thought I might just be very lucky and see a turtle!!Had me kitted up fairly quickly. All equipment transferred onto boat. Did quick briefing on where we would do first dive just before leaving. Had a problem starting boat up but after a few tweaks on engine we left. Only took about 10 minutes to the Aloh Gala dive site. Followed line down but I had problem with mask so Chalith took me back to boat and got a new one - all good no problems after that. Visibility good. Did nice swim around site and through small cave. Not very colourful and didn't see that much.. Came back to land and rested for about an hour till second dive. Set off for Napolian Reef. Swam down rope, visibility poor with quite a few surges. Did see moray eel swimming and lobster tucked into the rocks not much else. Disappointed as thought I might just be very lucky and see a turtle!!Had me kitted up fairly quickly. All equipment transferred onto boat. Did quick briefing on where we would do first dive just before leaving. Had a problem starting boat up but after a few tweaks on engine we left. Only took about 10 minutes to the Aloh Gala dive site. Followed line down but I had problem with mask so Chalith took me back to boat and got a new one - all good no problems after that. Visibility good. Did nice swim around site and through small cave. Not very colourful and didn't see that much.. Came back to land and rested for about an hour till second dive. Set off for Napolian Reef. Swam down rope, visibility poor with quite a few surges. Did see moray eel swimming and lobster tucked into the rocks not much else. Disappointed as thought I might just be very lucky and see a turtle!!

Review rating: 4

Review Author: ChuckOfAllTrades, India

Review Date: 15 Jan 2017

Review Body: This is a fantastic place to dive, and these are great guys to dive with. I got my PADI AOW from here. First off, the communication was fantastic - Wisni replied to all my emails and Whatsapps pretty quickly and was friendly, and gave me a deal for AOW + 1 extra dive, which was nice. The dive shop itself is quite beautiful - right on the sea, with own boats. The staff are helpful, if a little aloof, but don't let that worry you. The divemasters were helpful. Shirly, Dil and Wisni are terrific lads (though Shirly can be a little stern underwater :D). Special shoutout to Dil. We forgot to get a mask for him, and he actually dove without one! God-level stuff. The only place I would see scope for improvement - and that's why I can't give a 5/5 - is that they're not very involved with helping you fill in the log books, and as a result I still don't know the names of a lot of things that we saw. But that might just be me - a lot of people might not care about that. The diving itself was good - not great - visibility was fantastic but marine life was lacking. Overall, great experience with these guys. On their website, they have a history of the shop and its tragic history around the tsunami time. You should read it - it'll make you appreciate what these guys do, even more. Bottom line: Looking to dive in Galle / Unawatuna - you can't go wrong with these guys.

Review rating: 4

Review Author: travelerabhi33, India

Review Date: 09 Apr 2016

Review Body: I went to Submarine Diving School after reading about them on TripAdvisor. As suggested, they were great. It the last Diving school alongside Unawatuna Beach.We worked out a decent amount for around 3 dives. Mr. Sherly was very helpful. My dive master was very good and he took care of me during the dives. He was very patient and calm, and he let me wander around in the water on my own.I just kept exploring around and he just waited at one side asking me weather I was doing OK, occasionally. My dives lasted around 51 mins to 55 mins. and there was no hurry. Me and my wife were taken to shallows first and given instructions. Then we went for the real open water dive. The other instructor were equally patient and even if my wife was not comfortable during the first dive, he made her snorkel in those beautiful waters. The experience underwater was amazing, the water was so clean and blue. I was so satisfied with the experience. Worth every penny. I would recommend Submarine Diving school to Everyone.

Review rating: 4

Review Author: Madhav K

Review Date: 24 Jan 2016

Review Body: Unawatuna is a very good underwater dive site and we are so glad that we chose to do the dives with Submarine Diving School run by Shirly and his brothers Our 16 year old son did three dives with dive masters at this PADI dive center and had three great dives at Napolean Reef, Aluth Gala and Gala Pita Gala dive points. All dives were between 18 and 22 meters. His dive master was Manoj who is a very experienced diver. Our son spotted lobsters, lion fish, wrasse and turtles on the dives. The dives are great value from a cost perspective too.

Review rating: 4

Review Author: Palitha Jayasooriya

Review Date: 25 Dec 2018

Review Body: I went there on 25th December 2018 with a family members of my few friends for snorkeling with prior bookings. Shirley and the staff are friendly, helpful.They gave a very good support. But I understood that the particular place is not good for snorkeling. Hardly you will be able to see corals and no much fish also could be seen. that particular place may be better for diving. My idea is better not to undertake the customers for Snorkeling and if any inquiries regarding snorkeling they should direct them to where the proper places available around rather than letting them to be disappointed. Anyway they didn't let my team to be disappointed. they took us to an area where the two rocks in the sea somewhere about 750 meters away from the beach. There our children have had another experience like adventures and they were happy. The short coming of the diving center are we were not supplied fins at all and some of our members were given life jackets which cannot fast properly, in the middle of the see the jackets were floated little over the head and that interrupted our effort in swimming and my air way and the mask detached. I hardly swam to the beach. But Shirley was with the boat for the safe guard. And also better to have a covered place for shower for the ladies. Finally I can say the the team is fairly OK bot no proper facilities for snorkeling.

Review rating: 3

Itinerary Day 1

Itinerary Summary: Today you will be learning the basics of diving.

Itinerary Description: 09.00 AM: Meet-up, Briefing about the handling and diving practices in the pool 09.30 AM: Depart for diving 10.00 AM: Dive into the ocean and explore the marine life